Real Madrid and Bayern Munich Epitomise What Referees Are Up Against

Tuesday night saw two of Europe's titanic clubs take to the field in a UEFA Champions League semifinal first leg.

But instead of the blockbuster most anticipated, the Allianz-Arena played host to a relatively dull match marred by antics, complaints and private battles.

In between three scrappy goals, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich proved exactly why no one in their right mind would choose to be a referee.

In my book, Howard Webb did a pretty decent of keeping a lid on an atmosphere that threatened to explode.

He was confident and strong in the face of yet more professional footballers who find it acceptable to whine, moan and remonstrate wildly in the face of an official in an attempt to influence a decision.

In terms of action, it wasn't long before we saw the unsightly.

Early in the first half, a poor challenge from Fabio Coentrao saw him earn a "final warning." Consequently, reams of Madrid and Bayern players threw themselves at Webb, each making their own account and likely suggesting what they thought was an appropriate form of punishment.

We saw Cristiano Ronaldo, continuously frustrated as he earned significantly fewer free kicks than he felt he deserved, screaming and swearing at the officials throughout the 90 minutes.

Furthermore, after the ball clearly hit the chest of a Real Madrid player after Sergio Ramos' attempted clearance, Arjen Robben literally sprinted to the additional official claiming hand ball.

I've never seen a ball hit anyone more squarely in the chest. What the Dutchman did was pathetic.

Then, we come to Marcelo. It was no surprise to see him lunge in and earn a deserved yellow card, then "tap" Jerome Boateng on the face.

Throughout the game we saw 34 fouls which resulted in free kicks. Real Madrid collected six yellow cards and Bayern grabbed three themselves.

It just about passed for men's football.

Franck Ribery may have been watching Ashley Young because he went down easy and although Webb wasn't foolish enough to award a penalty, everyone who's been watching the Premier League recently had their heads in their hands in anticipation of yet another contentious decision.

The game was a nightmare to referee and the players a nightmare to handle. My commendations to Howard Webb for making what he could of a tough situation.

Ultimately, I was left disappointed by the game. I expected more quality but instead I saw players striving to win via any way possible. It didn't make for pretty viewing.

There's been a lot of debate over the last few weeks as to how we can improve the credibility and validity of football. This game further reinforced the belief that action needs to be taken.

Did you find that acceptable to watch?

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